Today, on January 23, 2022, the Secretariat has sent the following newsletter to all our members regarding the handling of membership fees for the coming year and beyond.
Japan Society of Safety Pharmacology
To All Members
We sincerely appreciate your understanding and cooperation in the operation of our society. (Note: This message is being sent to those who have held past membership, as the content is important, even if you are not currently a member.)
At our society's executive committee, it has been decided to abolish the annual membership fee (¥1,000) for the upcoming year and beyond (from April 2022). This decision is aimed at reducing the inconvenience caused by membership fee payments for maintaining membership and streamlining and improving the efficiency of administrative work on the part of the organizers.
The annual membership fees have primarily been used for the operation of our website and membership management. Our society operates mainly on a voluntary basis from pharmaceutical companies, academia, CROs, and equipment/material suppliers without relying on specialized agencies. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our academic meetings have been held online for two consecutive years, resulting in increased unconventional workloads. Hence, further efficiency is urgently needed.
With the abolition of the annual membership fee, administrative tasks such as payment confirmation, issuance of receipts/invoices, and other related tasks will be significantly reduced. We believe that this decision will benefit both our members and the organizers.
To compensate for the decrease in revenue due to the abolition of the annual membership fee, we plan to adjust the participation fees for the academic meetings and information technology exchange meetings held from the next fiscal year onwards. While continuing to promote the simplification and streamlining of administrative tasks, we will strive to provide more valuable information and opportunities for researcher networking. We kindly ask for your understanding and cooperation.
Furthermore, the details of the decision are as follows:
Announcement
The waiver of the annual membership fee will take effect from the fiscal year 2022 (April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023). If you make a payment equivalent to the annual membership fee after receiving this notice, it will be treated as a donation, and no refund will be provided, so please be aware of this.
Those whose membership has expired and wish to join again will need to register as new members. Details will be provided through the society's website (https://www.j-sps.org/).
If you wish to withdraw your membership, a separate procedure will be required. Details will be provided through the society's website (https://www.j-sps.org/).
In conclusion, we would like to inform you that the 13th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Safety Pharmacology will be held online from February 4 (Friday) to February 5 (Saturday), 2022. Registration is possible until the day of the event. We look forward to the participation of many of you. For more information, please refer to the following society's website.
Thank you.
Takashi Yoshinaga
Chairman, the Japanese Safety Pharmacology Society